By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“)
When it comes to an old chestnut like “Fiddler on the Roof,” the biggest challenge may be in keeping the Joseph Stein book fresh and the music and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick vibrant and relevant. This Bartlett Sher-directed production, based on the successful 2016 run at the Broadway Theatre, does just that.

The mark of a great production may be a cast that breathes life into its characters and a director that keeps the subject matter pertinent nearly six decades after its Broadway debut. Of course, the original Broadway production was directed by the legendary Jerome Robbins and his stamp is still very evident with this production with Hofesh Schecter’s original choreography recreated by Christopher Evans.
Based on the Sholem Aleichem stories regarding Tevye the Dairyman, the original cast of “Fiddler on the Roof” set what was then unheard of box office records for a decade after its 1964 Broadway opening.
Leading the national non-Equity tour is its current star Jonathan Hashmonay, who imbues in his Tevye a realistic portrayal of a middle-aged man trying to come to terms with his three older daughters’ romantic affairs as well as trying to maintain his own relationship with his wife Golde (Maite Uzal).

Hashmonay, born in Israel and the descendant of Holocaust survivors, is a bit young to play Tevye in chronological terms. But once he dons the dairyman’s cap and garments, he handedly assumes the mantle of a much-beleaguered husband and believable world weary father of five.
The village of Anatevka serves as a microcosm for Jewish life in Eastern Europe and as the backdrop for the many pogroms and other antisemitic actions waged against Jews there. The opening number of “Tradition” explains how the Jewish residents of the town find their way in life by the roles expected of them as fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. Each of them is in a precarious position, Tevye explains, like a fiddler on the roof “trying to scratch out a pleasant and simple tune without breaking his neck.”
Hashmonay’s portrayal of Tevye is charming, but reserved and measured. When the gravitas of the book requires he deal with life’s challenges to his traditional role as “Papa” and husband, he wrestles with God in his own way, questioning in a respectful manner as he attempts to deal with crisis after crisis in his own fashion. A simple man, Tevye is consumed by his unshakeable faith. It is that alone which keeps him centered as he tries to make sense of life against a backdrop of a fast-changing and difficult political and social landscape.

Set in 1905, the sleepy Anatevka villagers awaken to the turn of the 20th century CE and all that portends including the loss of Russian hegemony in Asia following their loss in the Russo-Japanese War and the coming threat of Bolshevism to the Russian empire.
The three older daughters –Tzeitel (Randa Meierhenry), Hodel (Graceann Kontak) and Chava (Yardén Barr) – express a desire to be married in “Matchmaker, Matchmaker.” Each of them provides Tevye with differing degrees of difficulty. After Tevye meets with Lazar Wolf, the butcher (Andrew Hendrick), a bargain is made to marry off Tzeitel to the much older widowed butcher, but she is taken with Motel, the tailor, played by David Kushner. Tzeitel refuses to honor her father’s agreement and begs he call off the arranged marriage.
Eventually, Motel sheds off his timid skin and asks Tevye for his daughter’s hand in marriage, saying he loves her. The joyful “Miracle of Miracles” chronicles Motel’s ability to speak up for himself and become a worthy son-in-law to Tevye and Golde.

Golde…oh yes. How will Tevye convince Golde to accept the idea of Motel as her new son-in-law and not the more established, rich butcher Lazar Wolf? The anwer is “Tevye’s Dream,” a well-choreographed piece in which Tevye recalls a nightmare he has just experienced in which Golde’s Aunt Tzetel, for whom her daughter was named, appears to him to rejoice in her namesake’s betrothal to Motel Camsoil.
Hashmonay’s performance as Tevye employing this clever and elaborate ruse is delightful and the audience cannot help but enjoy the ride. Eventually, another ghost from the past, Lazar Wolf’s deceased first wife Fruma-Sarah, arrives on the scene and threatens to curse Tzeitel should she proceed with plans to wed him.
At the end of the number, Golde is convinced that Motel is the only choice for Tzeitel and, despite having told their neighbors of their earlier intentions.
The ensemble nature of the piece serves to reinforce the feeling of community in Anatevka. Indeed, there are several songs in the work that cement this feeling. The villagers shriek in terror as Fruma-Sarah levels her curse, but they also join in prayer as the Shabbat lights are lit in “Sabbath Prayer” from home to home.

Another opportunity to reinforce the sense of community is the eventual marriage of Motel and Tzeitel that closes out Act One. In “Sunrise, Sunset,” Tevye and Golde join with the village to comment on the nature of life and how little boys and girls at play can in just the passage of time become grooms and brides sharing a wedding canopy and embarking on their own lives.
“The Wedding” continues the Stein book’s capacity to incorporate change in the traditional roles of observant men and women when Perchik (Austin J. Gresham), a student visiting from Kyiv, elects to dance with Hodel, Tevye’s second-oldest, a move that sends shock waves throughout the gathering. To deflate the controversy, Tevye boldly announces he, too, will dance with his wife Golde.
The act ends with a demonstration by the Constable (Jason Thomas Sofge) and his henchmen that sets into motion the coming clash between the Jewish and non-Jewish worlds in Anatevka.
Perchik, who is a dedicated revolutionary and radical opposed to the Tsar, finds himself torn between his love for Hodel and his commitment to fight for the rights of his fellow men. He is fiercely devoted to his cause and deeply in love with Hodel. After clumsily becoming engaged to her, he informs Tevye of his intentions. Knowing he is about to leave them, Tevye attempts to prevent any such engagement. But they are not asking his permission, they inform him. They just require his blessing.

Again, he takes this as a further challenge to his authority as the father of the house. The fathers arrange all marriages, after all. They are not even asking for his permission, but going over his head and making it clear, his opinion does not count. Tevye’s response is similar to what occurred with Tzeitel and Motel. He bristles at the idea, but accepts their mutual pledge and reluctantly gives his blessing. Later, following his arrest by authorities, Kontak as Hodel decides to stand with Perchik and beautifully explains her reasons to join him to her father in the song “Far From the Home I Love.”
Ultimately, Tevye accepts these first two challenges. However, when his third oldest daughter Chava (Yardén Barr) expresses interest in Fyedka, a young man who is not Jewish, Tevye will not yield ground. His faith allows him the ability to bend, but allowing Chava to marry outside of his faith will break him. He will hear nothing of it.

Each daughter’s involvement with her chosen mate brings greater degrees of difficulty for Tevye and Hashmonay’s passionate performance expresses this. At first, his traditional authority is challenged. Later, his ability to be the decision maker is questioned. Finally, his acceptance of allowing an outsider into his family threatens to dilute and diminish his faith, the one constant that has kept him going through his most difficult of times. He questions how they can find balance in such a world. “A fish may love a bird, but where would they live,” he asks.
It is Tevye’s simple wisdom that makes the villagers look to him during times of crisis for advice and wisdom. He is addressed as Reb Tevye in “If I Were a Rich Man,” but moreso at the wedding at the conclusion of Act One and prior to the culmination of the work in the song “Anatevka” in Act Two, the villagers seek sage counsel from him. He is a voice of reason.
As music director, Jonathan Marro serves to conduct a small, but throughly entertaining ensemble of musicians, who tender lovely performances of this beloved Harnick and Bock classic with Ted Sperling providing new orchestrations.
The one area in which “Fiddler on the Roof” has never gained great success has been in its set designs. In the original cast in 1964, it was the lone category in which it failed to win a Tony Award. These sets, like the ones from the 2016 revival, are somewhat sparse, but they do convey a general sense of homes, shops and outdoor settings.
The lighting designs by Donald Holder are beautifully rendered and costumes by Catherine Zuber along with hair and wig designs by Tom Watson also get top marks.
The Jerome Robbins-inspired “Fiddler on the Roof” with music and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock, a book by Joseph Stein and direction by Bartlett Sher, continues its national tour run at the Saenger Theater, 1111 Canal Street, in New Orleans now through Sunday, March 5. For tickets through Ticketmaster and show performance times, click here or call 504-287-0351 to reach the box office.